Islamic Law Research Guide

Find Articles about Islamic Issues in General

Primary Databases

• ATLA Religion Database with ATLA Serials (FT): Covers the literature of religion back to 1949.
• Bibliography of Asian Studies: Covers “principally western-language articles and book chapters on all parts of Asia published since 1971”. Extensive coverage of Islam.
• Historical Abstracts: Covers the history of the world, from 1450 to pressent (excluding the US and Canada). Extensive coverage of the politics and history of Islam and the Arabic-speaking world.
• Index Islamicus: Print Version: Z3013.Q34, Paley Reference Stacks–1st Floor (Index Table #11). The primary resource for Islamic Studies.

Secondary Databases

• Academic Search Premier (FT): Large multidisciplinary database.
• America: History and Life . Covers the US and Canada from prehistory to present. Includes subject terms Islam, Arabs, and Middle East, among others, as they relate to the United States and Canada.
• Anthropology Plus: International coverage of the anthropological literature and related disciplines. Search here for articles on archaeology, culture, folkore, language, and sociology of Islam and the Middle East.
• Humanities Abstracts: Covers a wide range of the Humanities literature from 1984 to present. Includes philosophy, theology, the arts, and literature and linguistics.
• ITER: Gateway to the Middle Ages and Renaissance. A collection of databases. Choose the ITER Bibliography for coverage of Islam during the Middle Ages and Renaissance (400-1700).
• JSTOR (FT): Large collection of full-text journals in many subject areas, including nine journals on the Middle East.
• MLA International Bibliography: Produced by the Modern Language Association. Covers literature, language, linguistics, folklore, literary criticism and theory.
• Philosopher’s Index: Premier database for the discipline of Philosophy offering international coverage of the literature from 1940 to present. Includes articles on Islam, Averroes, Avicena, and more.
• Project Muse (FT): Large collection of full-text journals covering many subjects, including religion, philosophy, and psychology.
• PsychInfo: Database of the American Psychological Association. International coverage of the Psychology literature from 1887 to present, including topics of religion, psychology of religion, and Islam.
• Social Science Abstracts: Covers journals in the social sciences from 1983 to present. Abstracts start in 1994.
• Sociological Abstracts: International coverage of the social sciences. Indexes journals, conference papers, and dissertations.
• Web of Science: Take a seminal paper and search the literature forward by finding other papers that have cited it.
• World News Connection (FT): Non-US media sources in translation. Covers multiple topics and all regions of the world.

Note: (FT) means that a database contains some or all full-text access to articles.

Theses and Dissertations

• Search Digital Dissertations, order using the Thesis Request Form of the School or the Database.
• Search specified title and order directly from platforms like E-Z Borrow.
• Search and order theses and dissertations from WorldCat (in Advanced Search, select “Thesis/Dissertation” from Subtype Limits: Any Content dropdown box. Do the Search. When you find a title, open the record and click on “Borrow this item from another library”, fill out the form, hit “Submit” and your request goes directly to Temple Interlibrary Loan.)

Find Books and Journals about Islamic Issues in General

Use WorldCat to search for and request books through Interlibrary Loan.

Limit Search to Books in Arabic:

• Go to Keyword search page.
• On the “Language” drop-down box, select Arabic.
• Insert word or phrase in keyword field and search.

Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Guides about Islamic Issues in General

Discipline-Specific

• Cambridge History of Islam (4 volumes)
• Civilizations of the Ancient Near East (4 volumes)
• Concordance of the Qur’an (1 volumen)
• Encyclopaedia Iranica (8 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Arabic Literature (2 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Islam and the Muslim World
• Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East (4 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of the Qur’an (3 volumes)
• Historical Atlas of Islam (Book plus disc)
• Holy Qur’an with English Translation and Commentary (5 volumes) : Qur’an in Arabic with English translation
• Islamic Desk Reference (1 volume)
• Middle East Contemporary Survey (22 volumes)
• Muslim Diaspora: a Comprehensive Reference to the Spread of Islam in Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas (2 volumes)
• Oxford Dictionary of Islam
• Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near East (5 volumes)
• Political and Diplomatic History of the Arab World, 1900-1967; a Chronological Study (16 volumes)

Multidisciplinary

• Chronology of World History (4 volumes)
• Cities of the World, 6th Edition. Print Version (5th Edition, 4 volumes),
• Contemporary American Religión. Print Versión
• Encyclopedia of Historians & Historical Writing (2 volumes): 44 entries on the Ancient World; 27 entries on the Middle East
• Encyclopedia of African History & Culture (4 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Politics and Religion (2 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Philosophy (editor–Edwards) (8 volumes)
• Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd Edition. Print Version: 15 volumes.
• Encyclopedia of Science and Religion
• Encyclopedia of World Cultures. Volume 9: Africa and the Middle East
• Encyclopedia of World Literature in the 20th Century (4 volumes). Has good articles on national literatures (Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc.)
• Garland Encyclopedia of World Music (10 volumes). Volume 6: Middle East
• Grove Art Online. Print Edition: Dictionary of Art (10 volumes)
• Grove Music Online. Print Edition: New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians (29 volumes)
• History of Humanity (5 volumes)
• Historisches Worterbuch der Philosophie (10 volumes)
• International Encyclopedia of Education, 2nd Edition (12 volumes)
• New Catholic Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition (15 volumes)
• New Dictionary of the History of Ideas (6 volumes)
• Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart (5 volumes)
• Religions of the World (4 volumes)
• Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy (10 volumes)
• Worldmark Encyclopedia of Cultures and Daily Life (4 volumes). Volume 3: Asia and Oceania

Selected Book Series

• Cambridge Studies in Islamic Civilization, published by Cambridge University Press
• Comparative Studies on Muslim Societies, published by the University of California Press
• Islam and the Muslim World, published by Frank Cass Publishers
• Islamic Philosophy, Theology, and Science, from Brill Academic Publishers
• Islamic History & Civilization, studies and texts — from Brill Academic Publishers
• Jews, Christians, and Muslims from the Ancient to the Modern World,published by Princeton University Press
• Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics, published by Princeton University Press

Selected Internet Resources

• Centre for Islamic & Middle Eastern Law, hosted by the School for Oriental and African Studies in London
• IslamiCity, “a global Muslim eCommunity”
• Islam, Islamic Studies, Arabic, & Religión, resources for studying Islam from Professor Alan Godlas
• Historical Maps of Islam, from the University of Pennsylvania
• Internet Islamic History Sourcebook, produced at Fordham University
• MSA-USC Hadith Database, from the Muslim Student Associatiion at USC
• Muslim Public Affairs Council, “The Progressive Voice for American Muslims”

See Also

•Arab-Israeli Conflict
•Arabic Language and Linguistics
•Arabic Literature
•Arabs
•Islam
•Islam and World Politics
•Islam — History
•Islamic Countries
•Islamic Law
•Middle East — Politics
•Muslim Women